NCJ Number
221343
Date Published
June 2006
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This whitepaper examines recent criminal-justice funding trends at the State level in North Carolina and the impact that these trends have had on the entire State system and each of its major justice and public-safety components.
Abstract
The amount of available Federal funding for North Carolina's criminal justice system declined 43 percent from 2002 to 2007. The most substantial cuts have occurred in the Federal juvenile justice and Byrne/Justice Assistance Grant programs, which are the primary Federal funding sources for the State's criminal and juvenile justice systems. These funds have been used by law enforcement, courts, corrections, and juvenile justice agencies for the development and maintenance of numerous crime-prevention and crime-reduction programs. In addition, they have assisted in the development of statewide and multiagency information sharing programs. Despite the effective use of these funds, the Bush administration "zeroed" them out at the initial 2006 budgetary planning cycle, and it is projected that the next budgetary period will begin in a similar fashion. North Carolina's long-term reliance on Federal funding for local and State criminal and juvenile justice agencies, as well as agencies providing crime-victim services led to the belief among State policymakers that Federal funding could adequately maintain these systems while State funding could be directed elsewhere. Consequently, there has been a lag in State criminal justice appropriations. This paper documents the specific impact that this decline in Federal and State funding has had on the quantity and quality of North Carolina juvenile justice, corrections, law enforcement, and court systems. It shows the potential for further and even more profound problems if funding is not restored and substantially increased over the coming years. 14 references